Just went back through some of my old posts from Oct and Nov from last year, and they felt surreal, especially the ones about #Iran repeating #Carter 1979 and #Netanyahu's intransigence — Both were obvious from the very early days of the conflict.
It is still shocking that we knew these 4 months ago
⬆️ update
>> It is still shocking that we knew these 4 months ago
SEVEN months ago
Now voices in #israel are piling on.
We can’t let #Iran and #middleEast use a hostage crisis again and do to #Biden what Iran did to Carter in 1979.
Suggestion that Biden may be impeached for “abandoning American hostages” and withholding MOAB class bombs from Israel is deeply offensive
This #falseEquivalence must be forcefully rejected before it takes a life of its own 😡
⬆️ The fate of the latest #ceaseFire proposal hinges on #Netanyahu and #Sinwar
In what can only be seen as a symbiotic interdependence, neither seems to be in a rush to make concessions to end the war and free #hostages taken by #Hamas in its #Oct7 attack
#TimingIsNoCoincidence #Election2024
Hamas has accepted the broad outline of the plan but requested “amendments.” Netanyahu has PUBLICLY disputed aspects of it, even though the #US has framed it as an #Israeli plan
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The fate of the proposed cease-fire deal for Gaza hinges in many ways on two men: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. Each leader faces significant political and personal pressures that may be influencing their decision-making. And neither seems to be in a rush to make concessions to end the devastating eight-month-long war and free hostages taken by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack. Hamas has accepted the broad outline of the plan but requested “amendments.” Netanyahu has publicly disputed aspects of it, even though the U.S. has framed it as an Israeli plan.
⬆️ #Netanyahu is ‘buying time’
Throughout the war, he has been criticized for letting personal political considerations get in the way of his decision-making.
His government is buoyed by two ultranationalist parties that oppose #ceaseFire deals. Instead, they prefer continuous military pressure to try to defeat #Hamas and free #hostages.
They also talk about “encouraging” #Palestinians to leave and reestablishing Israeli #settlements, which were dismantled when Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005
Thousands of #Iran-backed fighters offer to join #Hezbollah in its fight against #Israel after Israeli officials threatened a military offensive in #Lebanon if there is no negotiated end to push Hezbollah away from the Israeli border
Over the past decade, #Iran-backed fighters from Lebanon, #Iraq, #Afghanistan and #Pakistan fought together in #Syria’s 13-year conflict. The Iran-backed groups say they could also join together again against Israel
Iran-backed groups in the Middle East say thousands of their fighters are offering to come to Lebanon to join with the militant Hezbollah group in its battle with Israel. The offer comes amid fears the situation could escalate into a full-blown war along Israel's northern frontier with Lebanon that has seen almost daily exchanges since the Hamas attack on southern Israel in early October. Iran-backed groups from Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and other countries fought alongside Syrian government forces during Syria's 13-civil war. Hezbollah's leader says it has enough fighters and doesn't need foreigners to join. Israeli officials have threatened a military offensive in Lebanon if there is no negotiated end to push Hezbollah away from the border.
#Hezbollah has said it will not stop until there is a #ceaseFire in #Gaza.
#Netanyahu has said there will not be a cease-fire until #Hamas has been decimated and Israel has re-occupied all of Gaza.
#Hamas continues to hold hostages it shouldn’t have taken in 1st place
#Iran continues to laugh at the #Hamas-#Hezbollah pincer from its #AxisOfResistance.
#China and #Russia revel in their cunning, timed for #Election2024. #TimingIsNoCoincidence
https://www.reuters.com/world/israel-defence-chief-discuss-gaza-lebanon-us-trip-2024-06-23/
⬆️ #Netanyahu says #Israel is winding down its #Gaza operations . But he warns a #Lebanon war could be next.
Netanyahu also said there is no end in sight for the war in Gaza.
He said that while the army is close to completing its current ground offensive in #Rafah, that would not mean the war against #Hamas is over. But he said fewer troops would be needed in Gaza, freeing up forces to battle #Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the current phase of fighting against Hamas in Gaza is winding down. He says that could set the stage for Israel to send more troops to its northern border to confront the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The comments Sunday threatened to further heighten the tensions between Israel and Hezbollah at a time when the two enemies appear to be moving closer to war. Netanyahu also signaled that there is no end in sight for the grinding war in Gaza. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 cross-border attack that triggered the Gaza war. The Israeli leader spoke in a lengthy TV interview.
⬆️ An #Israel offensive into #Lebanon risks an #Iranian military response.
#Iran supports #Hamas in #Gaza, but would give greater backing to #Hezbollah.
Israel’s military said it had “approved and validated” plans for an offensive in Lebanon, even as the #US works to prevent the cross-border attacks from spiraling.
Netanyahu said he would solve the problem “in a different way” if needed. ″We can fight on several fronts and we are prepared to do that”
https://apnews.com/article/israel-offensive-lebanon-82d714dfca0d34fd44f565cf859818c0
The top U.S. military officer says that an Israeli military offensive into Lebanon will risk an Iranian response in defense of Hezbollah, triggering a broader war that could put U.S. forces in danger. Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says Iran “would be more inclined to support Hezbollah.” He says Tehran supports Hamas, but gives greater backing to Hezbollah “particularly if they felt that Hezbollah was being significantly threatened." Brown spoke to reporters as he traveled to Botswana for a meeting of African defense ministers.
⬆️ #US and #Europe warn #Lebanon’s #Hezbollah (part of #Iran's #AxisOfResistance) to ease strikes on #Israel and back off from wider #MiddleEast war
U.S., European and Arab mediators are pressing to keep stepped-up cross-border attacks between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants from spiraling into a wider Middle East war that the world has feared for months. Hopes are lagging for a cease-fire in Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza that would calm attacks by Hezbollah and other Iranian-allied militias. With that in mind, American and European diplomats are warning Hezbollah about taking on the military might of Israel. Escalating strikes between Israel and Hezbollah appeared to at least level off this past week. But a former U.S. diplomat in the Middle East says Israelis still seem to be arranging themselves for “an entirely different magnitude of conflict.”
⬆️ #Israel and #Lebanon's #Hezbollah (part of #Iran's #AxisOfResistance) have been trading fire since #Oct7, and the two countries now edge closer to all-out war.
"If this conflict escalates to all-out war, it could dwarf the destruction in #Gaza, draw in Iranian-backed militias in #Iraq, #Syria and #Yemen, spread embers around the #MiddleEast and embroil the #US. Iran itself could intervene directly.
The United Nations has warned of a “catastrophe beyond imagination”.
⬆️ First #Israeli strike on #Yemeni soil since the #Israel-#Hamas war began on #Oct7 threatens to open a new front in the region as #Israel battles proxies of #Iran.
“The #Houthis attacked us over 200 times. The first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them. And we will do this in any place where it may be required,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav #Gallant said in a statement.
#Yemen’s port city of #Hodeidah is the main entry point for #Iranian weapons.
Palestinians health official say least 13 people were killed in three Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza. Palestinian ambulance teams said the three strikes hit Nuseirat Refugee Camp and Bureij Refugee Camp. Three children and one woman were among the dead. AP journalists counted the bodies at a nearby hospital. Earlier, a live baby was delivered from a Palestinian woman who had been killed in an airstrike. In Cairo, international mediators, including the United States, are continuing to push Israel and Hamas toward a phased deal that would halt the fighting.
⬆️ #Israel claims to kill #Hezbollah senior commander in #Beirut strike.
Summary:
✴️ Rocket fire from #Lebanon kills Israeli civilian earlier on day
✴️ Attack in retaliation for rocket strike that killed 12 youngsters in Israeli-occupied #GolanHeights
✴️ Israel says commander #FuadShukr was key aide to Hezbollah leader
✴️ Strike also killed three civilians
✴️ Hezbollah official rebuffs calls not to respond to any attack
⬆️ #US embassy in #Beirut urges citizens to leave #Lebanon on 'any available ticket'
The advisory follows a similar warning from #UK Foreign Secretary #DavidLammy, who said the regional situation “could deteriorate rapidly”.
#Iran has vowed “severe” retaliation against #Israel, which it blames for the death of #Hamas chief Ismail #Haniyeh in #Tehran on Wednesday. His assassination came hours after Israel killed #Hezbollah commander #FuadShukr in Beirut.
Ramesh #NotGoingBack
